One End, Many Beginnings
by guitar-goddess16
Summary: One-shot. She closed the gap between them and finally enjoyed a kiss with him that wasn't out of fear or confusion. Today's events didn't just ensure endings. No, there were definitely going to be a lot of beginnings and this person in front of her wasn't going anywhere. All reviews and criticisms are welcome. Kataang with mentions of Maiko.


**Since I'm suffering from writer's block on my other story, I decided to do a one shot to try to inspire myself. I'm sure the idea is over done but I just wanted to do my own take after I watched the season finale…. again. So here we go!**

Katara was pacing around outside the palace. Most of it was ruined and she was stepping over rubble and burnt remains. Zuko and Azula had quite the fight and it really showed. But the fight was not on Katara's mind. No, her mind was drifting to a certain bald monk who had disappeared before the comet.

The sky was still crimson and beautiful in the wake of the comet. She wondered if Aang was looking at the same sky right now. She wondered if Aang got a chance to fight the fire lord and defeat him. Katara tugged at a piece of stray hair and paced around more. She was going to drive herself insane waiting for him.

Zuko was sitting on the steps to the palace watching Katara worry herself to death. The girl was a wreck from what he could see; she was almost as bad as Azula (whose screams thankfully died off long ago). Most people would see this behavior as pathetic but Zuko thought it was just her way of coping. She hadn't seen Aang and the last thing she said was yelled at him. He understood her concern, but it was really getting on his last nerve watching her like this. "Will you sit down?" Zuko clutched his side and gritted his teeth, "You're making me nervous."

Katara turned on him and unleashed the fury of her eyes on him. He shrunk back a bit but recovered. It reminded him of the time she threatened him back the Western Air Temple. "I'm not going to sit down," she put her hands on her hips and continued her pacing, "and you should be nervous! Our friends are out there and Aang is supposed to be fighting your dad! That is plenty of reason to be nervous!" Zuko knew she had a point but killing herself over it wasn't helping them.

Zuko sighed as he watched her. She was pacing so much, he was afraid she was going to wear the cement down into a trench. "They can all handle themselves, so just calm down," he rubbed his temple trying to relieve his headache. His fight with Azula really took a toll on him.

"How can I calm down?" Katara tried to sit down for a moment. She twitched and adjusted her position. She stayed still for all of two minutes but was back on her feet again, "What if something happened to them?" Zuko ignored her babbling. He was sure nothing he could say would make her shut up or calm down. He would much rather Mai to be here. She was normally pretty relaxed and didn't bug him like this. His stomach churned at the thought of her. She probably hated him now that she was stuck in jail for helping him.

Katara sat down next to Zuko. All that pacing was wearing her out. She was getting dizzy and sick to her stomach. Maybe sitting for a minute would help her out. Katara gazed up at the sky. All traces of the comet were gone and now the sky was turning a dark blue. "Shouldn't something have happened by now?" Katara dropped her head into her hands. Was that a bad sign? She didn't expect some huge sign in the sky but she also thought _something_ would happen.

"I don't know," Zuko shrugged but regretted it. His injury was killing him. "They might not be back for a while, even if things did go in their favor," Zuko tried to adjust his position but settled when he realized it would hurt no matter how he sat. He glanced at Katara from the corner of his eye. Her head was buried in her hands and her body tense. He felt bad for her. She could really tear herself up. He knew she loved Aang and was protective of him but he thought she was taking it all a little far.

"I just don't want anything to happen to him," Katara paused and quickly added, "or to any of them." Zuko nodded in agreement. They weren't even sure where Aang was or if he ever showed up to fight. He normally wasn't an optimist but he was sure Aang had made an appearance. The fate of the world rode on it.

Zuko turned to say something encouraging to comfort her, but chuckled when he saw she had fallen asleep. She was leaned up against the cement railing on the steps and breathing shallowly. Zuko smiled; at least now she couldn't beat herself up over her friends.

He shifted away from her, not wanting to risk waking her. If she woke up, things would start all over again and spirits knew he didn't need that. He leaned back against the steps with a moan of discomfort. He was really upset now that Azula banished all of the servants because he could use one right about now. Katara needed to be brought to a room and he needed medical attention for spirit's sakes!

But now wasn't the time to be selfish so he just made himself as comfortable as possible and passed the time by studying the darkening sky. The comet was beautiful earlier and Zuko was almost sad to watch it pass. After it left, the adrenaline left his body and the feeling of power was gone. He would never experience something like that again.

Zuko squinted at the sky. Stars were already shining in the sky but something was really out of place. Whatever was in the sky wasn't a star. It was darker but it had reflective qualities. It looked like an airship! He sat up and watched as the ship drew closer. It was only one ship. If it was his father, he would have a whole fleet. Could that be his friends coming back?

Zuko looked over at Katara who was still soundly asleep. He couldn't wake her up yet. She was exhausted and needed rest. There would be plenty of time for her to reunite with her friends if that was indeed them on the airship.

Zuko held his breath as the ship landed a little ways from the palace. Whoever was operating it obviously wasn't experienced and didn't have the confidence to land anywhere near the palace. Zuko took that as a good sign.

He looked over at Katara again. He had no intentions of waking her up until he thought they were threatened. An anxious Katara proved to be a bad one. Zuko made himself stand up with a few quiet grunts. If this wasn't his friends, he had to make an attempt to do something, even if not much.

"This place is empty," A familiar voice noted. Zuko listened as footsteps made their way towards him. They were coming from the left but he couldn't see anyone. He gripped his side and turned to face the incomers.

Another voice accompanied the boy's, "No, there are two people over there." This voice was a girl's and even from the distance, he could hear the smile in it. Could that be Toph and the voice before, Aang's? Zuko smiled as the group made their way to him.

They all wore smiles but they all looked exhausted and they were moving slowly. But then Zuko saw why: Aang and Toph were dragging someone, his dad. Despite how much he hated his father, a part of him sunk. But the rest of him was happy. This meant the war really was over.

Aang wasn't wearing a shirt and quite a few bruises and cuts littered his body. He was alive! Suki was beside them, helping Sokka along who was hopping on one leg. Zuko had never been happier to see the four of them.

Aang smiled at Zuko but when he saw Katara, his face dropped. He dropped Ozai and Toph yelped. She had no choice but to drop him too so she wouldn't be crushed. The man grunted and Zuko's good eye widened.

Aang ran up and kneeled next to Katara. Zuko realized why he was so worried but stopped him from jumping to the worst conclusions, "She's asleep. She worried herself so much she just passed out. Don't wake her." Aang let out a relieved breath and hung his head. That was too close for him. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her and he wasn't there to save her, "There's a room you can put her in. Go up the stairs and to the left. It's the second door on the left."

Aang looked at the sleeping Katara. She looked peaceful. So peaceful in fact that Aang got over his selfish desire to wake her and picked her up bridal style to bring her to the room. Zuko nodded at Aang as he passed by. He had a few different motives for letting Aang bring her away from the group. He knew when Katara woke up she would want to talk to him alone. He also knew it was probably a good thing if she got some well needed sleep before that conversation. Katara really owed him one for being so considerate. That or she could see it as reparation for chasing them around the world.

Suki deposited the injured Sokka onto the steps Katara was just on and Toph dragged Ozai by his hair over to the rest of them. "He's dead, right?" Zuko asked nervously. He thought he had heard him grunt earlier when Aang dropped him but it had to be a figment of his imagination. He did have a rough day…

"No," Toph began as she sat down on the steps too, stretching out her legs, "Aang worked some crazy spirit magic and took away the guy's bending. He really is one weird kid." Toph picked at her nose as she talked. She didn't seem too interested in what she was saying. Zuko's mouth dropped at what she said.

"How did he do that?" Zuko asked completely taken off guard. He could take away bending? That was unheard of! And Aang was only, what, twelve years old? Zuko was in shock.

"I told you he was a weird kid," Toph said again. She flicked something off her finger and Zuko was disgusted. He would never get used to her nasty habits no matter how long he was around her. "And the guy hit his head when I dropped him," Toph laughed and put her hands behind her head, "'Bout time the guy shut up." She laughed at the fire lord who was unconscious on the ground.

Zuko couldn't believe it. He also couldn't believe the rest of their story. And he thought he had a crazy night…

…..

Aang followed Zuko's directions to the room. When he entered it, it appeared to be nothing more than a guest room. Aang closed the door with his foot quietly walked over to the bed covered in red sheets.

As Aang tried to lay her down, Katara's arms tightened around his neck. He almost yelped in surprise and he became frantic. He sat her on the bed and tried to unwrap her arms from his neck without waking her up. Why must this happen to him?

He sighed in relief as her arms finally fell. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and felt his face heat up. Things like this only happened to him when he was with Katara. Everything seemed to embarrass him and things went weird. He had the worst luck with her.

He stood up straight and walked over to the window. He didn't want her to wake up and see him hovering over her. The moon was just rising and the sky was brightening up. Aang smiled at how serene this moment felt. Compared to the last few months, this was as peaceful as it could get.

Aang sat down on the window seal and watched Katara as she slept. She looked at peace. The moonlight hit her perfectly, making her skin look pale in the light. Her hair was a flowing mess around her but Aang thought her beautiful regardless. He smiled. Now that the war was over, things might actually happen between them, like a relationship. He knew he did nothing to deserve someone that amazing, but he couldn't help but be selfish and want her. She was perfect after all.

Katara stirred in her sleep and Aang watched as she became restless. On his travels with her, he perceived her to be peaceful sleeper. Sokka always seemed to be the restless and crazy sleeper. She must've been dreaming.

Katara was muttering now and her body tensing. Aang left the window to sit next to her. He was debating on whether or not to wake her. He had heard once never to wake a dreamer…or was that a sleepwalker? Curse it, he couldn't remember! But she was obviously not having a good dream and Aang had no idea what to do.

She turned to face him in her sleep and Aang noticed a single tear fell down her face. That was it; he was going to wake her up regardless to how that saying went! He put a hand on her arm as another tear fell. She whimpered in her sleep and Aang gently shook her, "Katara."

Katara shook from a silent sob and Aang tried to shake her again, more forceful this time. Katara's eyes flew upon and she shot up. Aang caught her by the shoulders before she could fly into him. She was breathing like she just ran a lap around the palace and her body slightly shaking. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she couldn't believe who was sitting on the bed with her: Aang.

Katara glued her eyes to his face and gasped in disbelief, "Aang?"

"Katara," he whispered. She looked him over; he had on no shirt and was bruised and battered. Some dirt clung to his body and his pants had some rips in them. Otherwise, he was okay. And he was here in front of her. He smiled as her eyes lifted up to meet his again.

She let out a shaky breath and then her face broke out in a huge smile. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. He drew her closer as sobs racked through her body. "Don't cry," he whispered into her hair. Tears were running down her face and wetting Aang's neck. "What were you dreaming about?" Aang ran his fingers through her hair and tried to calm her.

"It's not important, it wasn't real," She shook her head and let out more tears. Aang tightened his grip on her and rocked her gently. After she cried for a few minutes, she pulled back from their embrace, but her arms didn't leave from their position around him. "I was afraid when you didn't come back and the last thing I said to you…." Aang put a finger to her lips gently to stop her from rambling on about useless things.

"It's fine," He smiled and put his arm around her once again, "It's all over now, we won." A smile traced her face again and she hugged him. Aang never thought he could ever be so content by hugging someone. She sighed into his neck.

"I'd ask you how you did it, but I'm sure I'll get some crazy answer and a long story. I'm sure that can wait," Katara smiled and closed her eyes. Aang had a way of going on some strange adventure and making everything okay.

"That's probably a good idea, we have other times to hear stories," Aang grinned, "Sokka will probably be giving fabricated accounts for a week straight about how the Avatar ran off and suddenly appeared kicking the fire lord's butt." Katara laughed and snuggled into his arms. She couldn't believe how much better she felt just being here with him. Then, something clicked in her mind.

She pulled back and slapped his shoulder, "Don't you ever run off again!" Aang eyes bulged in surprise. Her slap had left a handprint on his shoulder and was turning red. He thought she was happy he was here! "But thanks for coming back," she blushed and leaned towards him a bit, "I think we have some things to sort out too…" Aang raised his eyebrows in confusion.

Katara blushed as she leaned forward more, "Katara…." Aang gulped. What the heck was she doing? She had just slapped him and now she was about to kiss him. Why couldn't girls just make up their minds like normal people!

"You asked when, did you not?" She smiled. Her breath tickled his face and he couldn't help but smile back. That was exactly what he asked her on Ember Island at the play. He was too concerned with her rejection then that he didn't realize she meant _now._ She obviously wasn't about to waste anymore time.

She closed the gap between them and finally enjoyed a kiss with him that wasn't out of fear or confusion. She smiled against his lips and took his face in his hands. Today's events didn't just ensure endings. No, there were definitely going to be a lot of beginnings, new adventures and new people.

But this person in front of her wasn't going anywhere.

**I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending but we all need some mindless fluff sometimes. And hopefully this gets some more idea's flowing for my other story. And if you haven't read it, go check it out! Reviews are welcome! Thanks for reading!**


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